


Precious Little Time

by SamCyberCat



Category: Free!
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-27
Updated: 2017-08-27
Packaged: 2018-12-20 13:52:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11922255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SamCyberCat/pseuds/SamCyberCat
Summary: When Rin turned up on Sousuke's doorstep that night it wouldn't be the first time or the last time. But what was important was this time and Rin needed the honesty that Sousuke provided him with.





	Precious Little Time

**Author's Note:**

> Written for SouRin Summer Fest 2017, with the prompt “promise”. Set a few years post-ES.

They hadn't seen each other in so long that maybe there should have been more fanfare that night. But that wasn't how things were between them. At least not when Rin turned up on Sousuke's doorstep, nearly collapsing from exhaustion.

That was always how it was with Rin – he pushed himself as far as he could go in every aspect of his life. The swimming was a given, you didn't get to be an Olympic gold medallist by not giving it your all. But it wasn't just the swimming. Rin was popular. He never let his fans down. He'd come so far as a celebrity because he was the right person for it.

And yet even Rin had his limits. Not many people saw him at that stage, but Sousuke had seen it so many times that he was used to it by now. This was just part of Rin. A part that Sousuke liked to believe that Rin trusted him enough to see. Even if it had been so long since he'd seen Rin at all...

Barely a word passed between them that night, but Rin appreciated both the bed and the understanding that Sousuke offered. He was out like a light almost as soon as his head hit the pillows. So Sousuke left him to it and resigned to sleeping on the sofa. It wasn't bad. He'd much rather have Rin here and sleep on the sofa than have a bed, but no company.

The next morning saw Rin up first. He was an athlete, so he was used to early starts. Whereas Sousuke, he... well, he worked hard, but he valued his days off and waking up earlier than 9am on those days wasn't part of the deal. By the time he did start to come around, it took him a moment to even remember what had happened last night. At first, the sound of someone walking around his kitchen alarmed him. But then a mug of coffee was shoved into his face and everything came back to him. He gratefully took the mug and sat up.

“We used to go jogging at the crack of dawn,” Rin said, joining him on the sofa now that there was space.

“We used to do a lot of things,” replied Sousuke.

“Don't be like that. You know I've been busy,” dismissed Rin, with a click of his tongue.

Sousuke sat quietly for a moment, sipping his coffee and just appreciating that Rin was here at all. Although he had no idea how long it'd last for. Probably not long.

“You've been doing well,” he said, after the pause.

“Just well? Most people say that I'm doing fantastically,” Rin chuckled.

Sousuke smirked at him; “You don't need your ego stroked any more than it already is.”

“Maybe you're the one person I want to stroke it,” Rin suggested.

There was another silence after that. Sousuke hated the silences. Because it didn't even feel like the companionable silences that they used to share when they were younger. It just felt like... like neither of them knew where they stood with each other any more. He sighed. Maybe it was time to take the bull by the horns. No good had ever come from waiting around for Rin to get back to you.

“How long are you here for?” Sousuke asked.

A pause. It was telling.

“...I don't know. I'd like to stick around Iwatobi during the off season. Catch up with everyone, you know? But I feel like if I let up on my training now, then I'll regret it later. This whole thing is such a time bomb. What if I peak and then... well, whatever comes after that?” Rin answered.

“We'll all still be waiting for you no matter what happens. I'll still be waiting,” Sousuke replied.

“I know that. I've always known. But sometimes I worry that I take advantage of that,” said Rin.

“Yeah, you do,” agreed Sousuke.

“Come on, Sousuke. At least try to be nice about it,” grumbled Rin.

“If you wanted nice, then you should have turned up on someone else's doorstep. But you're here, so I'm guessing you wanted honesty,” Sousuke countered.

“I want understanding,” Rin said.

“You'll get that too,” replied Sousuke. He took another sip from the mug. Rin made coffee with less sugar than Sousuke usually took it, but that was probably good for him.

“You're right though,” Rin mused, “There could be one time when I come back and everyone's moved on. I wouldn't even blame them.”

“That'll never happen. None of them would abandon you. Whenever you're racing, it's all anyone around here talks about,” assured Sousuke.

“...Is that enough though?”

The question hung in the air. Sousuke let it hang there for a while, because that was what Rin deserved. He watched out of the corner of his eye as Rin went through the motions of anticipation, despite acting as if it wasn't a big deal. But Sousuke could read him better than that. He knew that it was a big deal.

Sousuke finished his coffee.

“No. That's not enough.”

With that, he got up from the sofa and took his mug back through to the kitchen, trying not to feel bad about what he'd just said. It was harsh, but it was what Rin needed to hear. He came to Sousuke for what he needed, not what he wanted... As much as Sousuke would have liked it to have been both.

He started running water into the sink. There were a few dishes from last night to take care of. From before Rin had arrived and it had just been Sousuke on his own. He stared down at them, at the careless food stains that would now take some effort to scrub off, because he hadn't bothered to let them soak.

“What if I promised I'd stay for longer?”

Sousuke hadn't heard Rin come through, but he also wasn't surprised by it. Because Rin wasn't the sort of person to leave a discussion on that note.

“I thought you'd say 'what if I promised to come back',” Sousuke admitted, turning off the tap now that the sink had filled up.

“You know I'll come back anyway. That's a promise I always keep,” Rin replied, “But maybe it's more about what happens when I actually do come back. Just touching base doesn't feel like enough any more. You deserve more than just that once every few months. Well, longer than a few months now, isn't it...?”

Sousuke took the sponge off the draining board and started to scrub at the dishes.

“It's fine. However much time you give me, it's fine. You said yourself that you need this time for training and I respect that,” he said.

“But you still resent it a little,” Rin guessed.

“No, I don't resent you,” replied Sousuke. But when Rin lent on the counter and pulled a face at him, Sousuke added, “But I do resent the situation sometimes, yeah.”

“Honestly? I kind of do too,” admitted Rin, “The hardest part of growing up has been learning that you can't have everything you want. You can't have it all ways, no matter how hard you push yourself. I don't regret going into this. If I didn't work to achieve my dreams, then I wouldn't be able to live with myself. But I also wish that they didn't keep me so far away. I miss you. I miss Gou and Haru and everyone else, too. It gets lonely, but I just can't stop.”

“Don't stop. No one wants you to stop,” Sousuke insisted.

“I won't. But maybe... if you let me stay another night, it wouldn't kill me,” Rin said. It was impossible to ignore how hopeful he sounded.

Sousuke took the plate he'd been cleaning out of the sink and stood it on the draining board to dry off.

“That's never been an issue. My door's always open for you and my bed's free for as long as you need it,” he replied.

“You're too good to me. You always have been,” Rin hummed, “One day I'm gonna start paying you back.”

“There's no need for that,” Sousuke assured.

Rin pulled himself back from where he'd been leaning on the counter and stood behind Sousuke. He put his arms around him, squeezing his chest in a way that only Rin ever did. He rested his head on Sousuke's shoulder. The pain wasn't as bad as it used to be.

“Maybe I want to,” he purred into Sousuke's ear.

“I'll believe that when I see it,” Sousuke dismissed, even if he couldn't ignore the warm breath on his ear. Rin was a monster in many ways.

“I promise that I will...” Rin whispered.

He took Sousuke's ear lobe in his mouth, but only for a moment. Sousuke felt those teeth bite gently down onto it, before he let go again. Honestly, Sousuke wanted Rin to be anything other than gentle, but there was a time and a place for everything. Except in their case, there was never much time...

“Let me finish up here first,” he growled.

“Want me to give you a hand?” Rin checked.

“No. I want... I want you to stay...” Sousuke whispered, hating himself for being so honest.

Rin pulled away from him. As his hands disappeared from around Sousuke's waist, Sousuke felt his heart ache.

“I'll stay for the night,” Rin answered, “And I'll stay for longer next time.”

Next time. Always next time. But it was enough. It had to be.

“Promise that you will,” Sousuke pressed, without turning away from the sink.

“I promise,” said Rin.

And Rin... kept his promises. There were times when he messed up, because he was only human, but Sousuke knew that he could rely on Rin to stay true to his word. There would be a next time, as there always was. But the next time would be longer. Perhaps even long enough that they could finally address whatever was going on between them. Sousuke certainly hoped so.

He finished up the dishes and let the water drain out of the sink. Then the two of them left together. Because when you had as precious little time as they did, no good came of wasting it.


End file.
